The United Nations and humanitarian partners in Malawi have appealed for additional US$70.6 million (approximately MK70.6 billion) to assist 1.1 million people affected by the passage of the Tropical Cyclone Freddy weather system in the Southern Region in March 2023.

UN Resident Coordinator Ms. Rebecca Adda-Dontoh, in a statement issued on Saturday, said this is in support of the Malawi Government-led response.

“Freddy’s passage has caused death, destruction, displacement and devastation on a horrifying scale at a time when Malawians were already facing high levels of food insecurity and a cholera outbreak,” said the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Malawi, Rebecca Adda-Dontoh. “Humanitarian partners continue to support the Government’s relief efforts following Cyclone Freddy, but the needs are truly enormous, with some Traditional Authorities in Nsanje and Phalombe Districts still unreachable by road,” said Adda-Dontoh added.

According to the statement, the revised Malawi Flash Appeal outlines the contribution of humanitarian partners to the government-led responses to floods and cholera in Malawi.

The Flash Appeal aims to provide an integrated response—including shelter, nutrition, health, water, sanitation and hygiene, and protection—for those hardest-hit by the crisis, while ensuring communities are at the centre of the response.

“I visited displaced people in Blantyre and was inspired by their incredible resilience and determination to move forward, despite the tragedy they have endured,” the UN Resident Coordinator said. “Malawians have themselves mobilized to support one another in this time of tremendous need and we must step-up our solidarity as the international community,” the statement quotes Ms. Adda-Dontoh as saying.

It further states that the passage of Cyclone Freddy left a trail of devastation across 15 districts in southern Malawi. At least 676 people have died, and this figure is expected to rise in the days ahead, while 659,278 people were displaced in 747 camps, according to the Government.

“The Flash Appeal requirements for the Freddy response come on top of the $45.3 million called for earlier this year by humanitarian partners for the cholera response, bringing the total revised Flash Appeal to $115.9 million. Malawi continues to face its deadliest cholera outbreak in recent history and health concerns are rising following the passage of Cyclone Freddy. The UN and its partners in Malawi urgently call on donors to fund the revised Flash Appeal and enable them to work swiftly in support of the Government-led response to assist communities affected by the passage of Cyclone Freddy and the cholera outbreak,” concludes the statement.